Electric switching mechanism



Nov, 28, 1944. J, F MCKENNEQ 2,363,886

ELECTRIC SWITCHING MECHANISM 'His Abtorjneg,

Nov. 28, 1944 J, r- McKENNEY 2,363,886

ELECTRIC SWITCHING MECHANISM Filed July 15, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor z James 1:. MCKenneg,

Patented Nov. 28, 1944 ELECTRIC SWITCHING MECHANISM James F. McKenney, Pittsfield, Mass., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application July 15, 1942, Serial No. 450,977

(Cl. 20o-5) 6 Claims.

are usually characterized by a pair of effectively parallel branch circuits which are alternately opened and closed so as to transfer the load current back and forth from one to the other, the tap changing always being done in an open branch circuit. They can also be used for tap changing on other kinds of apparatus, such as reactors,

' dynamo windings, capacitors, and even resistors. The invention is an improved combination of .an insulating bushing and load-ratio-control mechanism into a compact unitary ,structure in which a single bushing provides the major insulation to ground of all of the load-ratio-control switching mechanism. .A An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved arrangement of the parts of a loadratio-control mechanism.'

Another object of the invention is to provide a compact and unitary load-ratio-control struc' ture.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new combination of an insulating bushing and a load-ratio-control mechanism.

The invention will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevation partly in section of an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the upper part of Fig. 1 for'showing the details of the arcing contacter portionl of the mechanism; Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram, Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-,5 of Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6--6 of Fig. 1, Fig. 7 is a part section'on the line 1-1 of Fig. 4, Fig. 8 is a part sectional View of a modification, Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9 9 of Fig. 8, and Fig. 10 is a section on the line IIl-I of Fig'. 8.

Referring now'to the drawings, in which the same reference character designates the. same part throughout the several views, and more particularly to Fig. 1, the entire mechanism is mounted in an opening -I in a casing or tank, part of which is shown at 2. 'I'his casing will usually be a conventional metal transformer tank which in many, but not necessarily all, cases will be at least partially filled with insulating and cooling liquid, the level of which with respect to'the parts may typically be such as to coincide with the line 4 4. The portion of the mechanism mounted within the opening I and extending on both sides of it is an insulating bushing 3 which may be made of any suitable material, for example, ceramic material, such as porcelain or vitreous material, such as glass. As shown, it is provided with supporting means in the form of a ridge 4 which is clamped to the casing'2 by any suitable clamping means, such as a ring 5 bolted on the tank 2. Interposved between the ridge and the ring are relatively soft gaskets and padding means for preventing direct metal-toporcelain contact.

'I'he arcing duty or current interrupting function of the mechanism is performed by a set of contactors indicated generally by 6 and located on top of the bushing 3, whereas the actual tapchanging or selective switching is carried out by means of ratio adjusting selector switching mechanism indicated generally by 1 and located at the bottom of the'bushing 3.

The arcing duty switches and the selector switches are both fastened to the bushing 3 by means of a clamping structure indicated generally by the reference numeral 8 and located within and lengthwise of the bushing 3. This clamping structure comprises a metal tube Il having an integral transverse plate I0 at the top end thereof. opening in the top of thev bushing, and the bottom side of the plate I0 lis separated from the top of the bushing by a gasket Il. Attached to the lower end of the tube 9 is a spider assembly I2 having four feet I3, I4, I5 and I6 which engage the under side of the bushing. These are shown more clearly in Figs. 4 and 7. The spider assembly I2 is provided with a boss I1 which is fastened by means of a key-'and keyway I8 to the lower end of the tube 9 and these parts are furlther fastened together by means of a nut I9 threaded on the lower end of the tube 9. A spring washer 20 is interposed between the lower side of the boss I1 and the nut I9 so that when the nut is drawn up, the spring washer is compressed not quite to its solid height, thereby putting the bushing 3 under compression. A locking plate 2| is fitted over the nut I9 and has ngers extending in side openings in the spider member I2 so as positively to prevent the nut I9 from loosening. Thus, the porcelain is pinched between the ends of the clamping means, namely The tube passes through any v the plate land the feet l3-I6, inclusive, and is subjected to a compressive force determined by the elasticity of the spring washer 2U, which force will vary slightly with temperature changes as the difference in expansion between the metal tube 9 and the porcelain will be very slight.A This precompression helps the porcelain resist'bending loads which will occur during shipment due to the overhanging masses of the contactor mechanism 6 and Ithe ratio adjuster mechanism 1. Before any tensile stress will appear in the porcelain the precompression must first be subtracted. This will substantially lower the resultant tensile stress, and as porcelain is strong in compression and weak in tension, this feature materially strengthens the bushing.

The lower end of the spider member l2 is also provided with brackets 22 fr receiving a drive shaft 23 which is held in place by means of thrust collars 2d and which carries between the two brackets 22 a double-ended bevel pinion 25 which drives two bevel gears 26 Aand 21, the former serving to operate the contactor mechanism 6 and the other to operate the ratio adjusting mechanism 1. The bevel gear 26 is pinned to the lower end of a cam shaft 28, running through the tube 9 of the clamping assembly, which has its upper end fastened to a scroll cam 29. The shaft 28 is journaled in bushings 30 fitting in the ends of the tube 9, and a spring loaded packing at the upper end of shaft 28 provides a seal around the shaft.

The contactor assembly 6 comprises a pair of air break arcing contacts 34 and 35, each of which has its own are chute 36 and its own magnetic blow-out coil 31. Each contactor has a fixed contact 38 and a movable contact 39, the latter being pivoted at 40 and being operated by a link 4I attached to a pivoted cam follower 42. The fixed contacts 38 are connected in series with their blow-out coils 31 and are then connected by means of relatively rigid metallic connectors 43 and 44 to terminals on the bushing 3. These connectors also serve to brace the contactor assembly mechanically so as to make the mounting stronger and more rigid. 'I'he movable contacts are connected by means of similar connectors 45 to other terminals on the bushing 3.

Ihe configuration of the scroll cam 29 is such that one contactor is opened and closed during one half revolution of the cam and the other contactor is opened and then closed during the next half revolution of the cam.

The ratio adjusting mechanism 1 is carried from the spider member I2 by means of a shelf member 46 having four upwardly extending portions 41 through which bolts 48 are threaded into the four legs of the spider member I2. The member 46 is in turn provided with a plurality of outwardly extending fingers 49 and 50 over which is fitted an insulating cylinder I which is fastened to these extensions by means of bolts 52. This cylinder is preferably made of resinbonded laminated insulating material when the mechanism is immersed in cooling and insulating liquid. However, with air-cooled apparatus the cylinder should be made of glass or other nonmoisture absorbing insulating material.

Fitted into the member 48 is an upwardly extending shaft 53yfor the bevel gear 21. lThis bevel gear carries a pair of `Geneva gear drivers 54 and 55 which cooperate respectively with Geneva gears 56 and 51 respectively on a solid shaft 58 and ahollow concentrically-mounted shaft 58. Fastened to the hollow shaft 58 is a contact-carrying arm 88. The outer end of this CII ference of the cylinder 5l.

arm carries a pair of separable double-ended contacts 6I and 62 which are urged toward each other by a spring 63. The upper ends of these contacts engage continuously the opposite sides of a conducting ring 64 fastened to the member 46 by bolts l65. This serves as the common contact ofthe upper one of the two ratio adjusting switches. The lower ends of the contacts 6I and 62 serve to pass on opposite sides of and make contact with spaced fixed contacts 66 bolted at equally spaced intervals around the circum- These are provided with external binding posts 61 for making electrical connection to taps in a transformer winding 68.

The solid shaft 58 which passes through the hollow shaft 59 carries a sleeve 69 which is slidable thereon but restrained from relative turning and which is embedded in a resinous insulating compound 10 in a square-cup-shaped member 1I integrally attached to which is a contact-carrying arm 12 carrying a setof springpressed contacts 13, and 14 which are similar to the contacts 6I and 62. These contacts continuously engage a second conducting ring 15 carried on a supporting member or shelf 16 which is bolted to the cylinder 5I by bolts 11. Contacts 13 and 14 also engage successively the spaced contacts 66 as the shaft 58 is rotated.

The Geneva gear drives for the ratio adjuster contact-carrying arms 60 and 12 are so adjusted that the arm-60 can move its contacts from one fixed tap contact 66 to the next only when the arcing contactor 34 is open and similarly the ratio adjuster arm 12 can only move its contacts from one fixed tap contact -66 to the next when the arcing contactor 35 is open. The areing contactor 34 is connected in series with the ratio adjuster contacts 6 |-62 and the arcing contactor 35 is connected in series with the ratio adjuster contacts 13--14, as shown in Fig. 3, so that as a result of this operation of the contacts and these connections it is impossible for a ratio adluster switch ever to interrupt current or cause an arc in the insulating and cooling liquid in the transformer tank.

For extending the range or number of steps' obtainable with the mechanism it is provided with a reversing or transfer switch consisting of,

` between the common contact 16 and either one of the other two contacts is made by a movable split contact arrangement 6| which is essentially of the same construction as the contacts carried by the ratio adjuster arms 60 and 12. This contact assembly 8| is carried by an insulating arm 82 pivotally mounted on a bracket 83 extending downwardly from the spider member 16. Integrally fastened to the arm 82 is a Geneva gear sector 84 which is operated by a pin 85 carried by the member 1I. This arrangement is such that the ratio adjuster arm 12 can make substantially one complete revolution in one direction and thereby make successive engagement to all of .the tap contacts 66 before the pin 85 will engage the sector 40. Further revolution of the ratio adjuster will cause the bridging contact 8| of the reversing switch to .move to its other bridging position.

The circuit with which the above-described mechanism co-operates usually includes a midtapped reactor 86 for preventing short circuits between adjacent taps in the main transformer winding -68 when the ratio adjusters 69 and 12 make connection to such adjacent taps.

The preferred circuit arrangement is shown in Fig. 3. These connections may be tred from one line terminal 81 throughl an opening or subbushing 88 on the main bushing 3 to the electrical mid-point of the reactor 86. 'I'he circuit then divides through a pair kyof conductors 89 and 90 and the" connectors 44 and43 and the blowout coils 31 and the arcing contactors 35 and 34 and the ratio adjuster contacts 13-14 and 6I62 to one of the tap contacts 66 of the main transformer Winding 68, then through this windingto the contact 80 of the reversing switch and through the bridging contact 8| to the common contact 18 and then through another opening or sub-bushing 9| in the main bushing to the other line terminal 92. The arcing contactor 34 is shown open so that the ratio adjuster 60-6l-62 may safely be moved t'o either one of the adjacent tap contacts without causing any arcing. Subsequent closure of the arcing contactor 34 will then change the voltage of the line terminal 81 to a voltage midway between the voltages of the adjacent taps to which the ratio adjusters make contact. In this mannery taps on the main winding 68 are changed step by step without-at any time interrupting the main circuit.

It will be noted that the above-described construction insures that the major insulation to ground of all of the parts of the ratio adjuster is the porcelain insulating bushing 3 and that as all of the circuit connections are brought out through this bushing no other insulating bushings are required.

Another feature of the invention is the cooling effect produced by the insulating cylinder 5l. Thus, any heating of the ratio adjuster contacts caused by the flow of heavy currents therethrough will heat the surrounding liquid which, being confined in the cylinder 5I, will rise as a result of this heating, thereby drawing .cooling liquid in at the bottom of the cylinder so that a flue effect is produced resulting in circulation of the cooling liquid and thus causing a cooling action of the ratio adjuster contacts.

Still another feature of the invention is that the ratio adjuster switches are located in the same tank with the main transformer while the arcing contacts are placed outside inv the air where they are readily accessible for contact replacement and where they will tend to have a relatively long contact life. This tendency to increase the contact life and the ready accessibility of the arcing parts which ordinarily need :mostl frequent attention and replacement tends to permit much more frequent operation of the ratio adjuster mechanism so that in some cases time delay in the control of the device may be dispensed with, thus making a regulating transformer having this ratio adjusting mechanism substantially as quick acting as an induction voltage regulator.

The mechanism shown in Fig. 1 is suitable for varying the ratio of a single-phase transformer under load and it is also suitable for varying the ratio of one phase of a vpolyphase transformer. When changing theratio of a polyphase transformerthere will be employed as many mechanisms of the type shown in Fig. 1 as there are phases. In such cases it is convenient to drive all of the ratio adjusting mechanisms by means of a single motor or other suitable source of rotation and to that end the shafts 23 of the mechanisms will be mechanically coupled together. The simplest way to do this is to have all of the shafts in alignment so that they may be mechanically interconnected by simple insulating couplings. However, by reason of manufacturing variations in the dimensions of the various parts and notably variations in the dimensions of the insulating bushing 3, it is practically impossible to manufacture a number of units such as shown in Fig. 1 to such close tolerances that all of their shafts 23 will line up.

These Variations in dimensions may be compensated for by the adjusting means of a modified structure, three views of which are shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. This consists of the elimination of the depending brackets 22 on the member I2 and the substitution therefor of depending brackets 93 in which there is adjustably posi tionable a member 94 to which the spider 46 is fastened by the studs 48. The shaft 23 is journaled in the member 94. The member 94 is fastened to the depending brackets 93 by means of studs 95 which are threaded into the member 94 and which pass through vertical slots in the brackets 93. Thus, by loosening the studs 95 the member 94 may be slid up and down vertically so as to secure the proper spacing of the shaft 23 with respectto the surface 2 of the transformer tank upon which the bushing -3 is supported. The studs 95 are then drawn up tight and as a further assurance against subsequent misalignment holes may be drilled through both the members 93 and 94 and dowels 96 inserted therein.

The gear 26 on the shaft 9 is keyed thereto and is provided with a Iball bearing 91 mounted in the member 94. By means of this construction the gear 96 will slide up and down on the shaft 9 so as to accommodate vertical adjustment of the member 94.

While there have been shown and described particular embodiments of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the invention and,

therefore, it is aimed in the appended claims y to cover'all such changes and modifications as Ifall within the \trule spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by it better resists bending loads due to the over,

hanging masses of said switching means.

2. In a unitary load-ratio-control mechanism, an insulating bushing, an arcing contactor, means for mounting said contactor on top of said bushing, a plurality of electrical terminals on said bushing, and relatively rigid metallic connections between the contacts of said contactor and said terminals, said connections also acting as mechanical braces for said contactor.

3. In a load-ratio-control mechanism for an insulating-liquid-immersed multi-tapped transformer, a ratio adjusting switch immersed in said liquid and having a plurality of tap contacts in said transformer, and an open-ended verticallydisposed cylinder of insulating vmaterial surrounding said switch whereby heating o f the concauses circulationv of said insulating liquid through said cylinder and a cooling action with respect to said contacts.

4. A unitary load-ratio-control mechanism for multi-tapped transformers comprising, in combination, a single insulating bushing provided with supporting means intermediate its ends for attachment to the edges of an opening in a transformer tank, clamping means extending lengthwise through said bushing for placing it under compression, non-arcing duty ratio adjusting selector switches mounted on the end of said bushing which is adapted to be located inside the transformer tank, arcing duty contactors mounted on the other end of said bushing, and common driving means for said switches.

5. In combination, a transformer tank provided with a supporting surface, ratio adjusting switching mechanism mounted on said surface, said mechanism having a drive shaft, and means ineluded in said mechanism for adjusting the location of said drive shaft 'with respect to said surface whereby said shaft may be aligned for common driving purposes with the corresponding shaft of another ratio adjusting switching mechanism mounted on the same supporting surface.

6. In combination, a transformer tank provided with a surface for supporting ratio adjusting means, an opening in said surface, an insulating bushing mounted in said opening and extending into and out of said tank, a pair of arcing duty contactors mounted on the outer end of said bushing, a pair of non-arcing duty ratio adjuster switches mounted on the inner end of said bushing, common driving means for said switches including a, shaft carried parallel to said surface by said bushing, and means for adjusting the spacing between said surface and said shaft.

JAMES F. MCKENNEY. 

